Engineering Change Notice (ECN)

Engineering Change Notice (ECN) is the data object that announces an approved engineering change to all stakeholders — manufacturing, suppliers, service, sales — and triggers downstream actions such as inventory disposition, work-instruction updates, and supplier change agreements. It is the broadcast layer of the change discipline.

What it covers

• Affected items list — parts, drawings, BOMs, documents, and tooling impacted by the change.
• Effectivity statement — date, unit, lot, or serial cutover rule.
• Disposition instructions — use-as-is, rework, scrap, or return for inventory and WIP.
• Distribution list — internal recipients and external suppliers/customers entitled to the notice.
• Linkage to the originating ECO and the ECR that precedes it.

Relationships (see sidebar)

• Supports the Change Management (ECO/ECN), Supplier Development, and Release Management processes.
• Implemented by PLM platforms including Siemens Teamcenter, PTC Windchill, Aras Innovator, Oracle Agile, and SAP PLM.
• Paired with the Engineering Change Order (ECO) data object.